WOODS, WATERS, AND WILDLIFE
On the prowl Bobcats make a comeback in Ohio’s rural forestland. STORY AND PHOTOS BY W.H. “CHIP” GROSS
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obcats were supposedly extirpated from Ohio by 1850, but that may not actually have been the case — especially in the extreme eastern part of the state, particularly Belmont County. “In talking to some real oldtimers here, they tell me there have always been bobcats around,” says Bryan Postlethwait. “Just more now.” A field supervisor for the Division of Wildlife, Postlethwait oversees state wildlife officers in six southeastern counties, and in doing so, he logs a lot of driving time in his 4-wheel-drive pickup truck. “Bobcats certainly aren’t behind every tree,” he says, “but in the last few years, I’ve lost count of the number I’ve seen while driving, both live ’cats and roadkills.” Bobcats were taken off the state-endangered list in 2014. At the time of delisting, the population in Ohio
12 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • NOVEMBER 2020
was about 1,000 individuals, and since that time, the bobcat population has continued to increase in both size and distribution. The main reason for the growth is that Ohio still has a large amount of ideal yet unfilled bobcat habitat. While the bobcat population is well established in southeastern and southern Ohio, bobcats continue to expand and repopulate areas in the northeastern and western parts of the state. In addition, bobcats from neighboring states are augmenting the Ohio population. Traci Keller, wildlife care assistant manager at Lake Metroparks Wildlife Center, located east of Cleveland in Lake County, knows bobcats well. The rehabilitation center has worked with half a dozen bobcats over the past seven years.